By Pamela Brice
For the Herald
It’s probably going to be easier soon for the military to recruit high school students, but not everyone is crazy about the idea.
In the past, there have been problems with overzealous recruiters. In one local case, there was even a sexual harassment charge, though it ended up in an acquittal.
New legislation would require public schools to allow military recruiters access to students through campus visits and provide recruiters with the names, phone numbers and addresses of students.
Districts that do not comply risk losing federal money.
The bill has passed Congress and is scheduled to be signed by President Bush early next year.
If it becomes law, Everett School District and others will have to revamp policies regarding students addresses and phone numbers. And military branches could not be banned from making school visits, as occurred several years ago in Shoreline.
Currently, recruiters visit high schools monthly, weekly, even daily, depending on district policy. Military branches also request names, addresses and phone numbers of all seniors.
Most school districts in the area already provide that information, including Shoreline, Edmonds and Northshore.
But Everett changed its policy in August 1999 after several parents spoke out, district spokeswoman Gay Campbell said.
"We found we had a large number of parents who were very angry about their child’s address and phone numbers being released when staff addresses are kept confidential … And almost twice a week we were getting commercial enterprises requesting that information," she said.
A change in policy would be difficult.
"It would be a fairly sizable thing," Campbell said. "It will make our record keeping much more difficult because some parents may say, ‘Don’t give out my child’s name and address.’ "
Under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, parents can request that names and addresses of children not be released, and districts must comply. Those requests could increase once Bush signs the new law.
Meanwhile, in 1998, Shoreline banned the Army from its two high schools in response to two sexual harassment cases allegedly involving a recruiter and potential female recruits.
The recruiter was acquitted in March 1999 after facing an Army court-martial.
"The Army was asked not to come to campus for a couple of years," district spokeswoman Marjorie Ledell said, adding recruiters have since returned.
The change in law would be welcome for recruiters.
"We use the contact list to let recruiters know where the seniors are and for doing general mailings," said Petty Officer Michael Murdock, public affairs officer for the Navy recruiting district based in Seattle.
Marine Gunnery Sgt. Paul Cailotto, in charge of recruiting in of Snohomish County, said the legislation will help recruiting.
"It is very time-consuming to do area canvassing at shopping malls and local markets — and we only hit a small part of the senior class that way," he said.
Despite the obstacles, many recruiters said their offices meet or exceed their monthly enlistment goals regularly.
"For the last four months our Lynnwood office has goaled to put 15 people in the Navy," Murdock said, adding they’ve been able to place 24.
Most recruiters deny they use high-pressure sales techniques to get students to enlist.
"We are very big on being pro-education," said Petty Officer 1st Class Enemias Rocha, a Coast Guard recruiter.
"Schools are not a place to impose on our young people. It’s a place to expose our organization, but not to impose on their community," he said.
Some parents say local recruiters overstep the lines.
Glen Milner, a Shorecrest High School parent, organized to put pamphlets in the high school’s career counseling center on how to handle military recruiters’ high-pressure tactics.
"If you pick out a parent who has a male senior in high school, they will agree — it’s high-pressure sales," Milner said.
"My kid … has no inclination or interest, and yet he got eight to 10 recruiting flyers in the mail, and phone calls that were pretty aggressive."
Pamela Brice is the education writer for the Enterprise weekly newspapers. You can call her at 425-673-6522 or send e-mail to brice@heraldnet.com.
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